Each particular person working in customer support needs to be handled with respect. I think about that may be a worth we share.
Nevertheless, we would categorical that shared worth in fairly other ways. For those who’re within the U.S. or Canada, then a beneficiant money tip is likely to be an specific signal of that respect. It reveals an understanding of the financial system governing service wages in your international locations, and it virtually helps the particular person working underneath it.
For me, in Australia, tipping shouldn’t be such an ingrained cultural apply. Whereas I do normally tip in restaurant conditions, it isn’t required or usually even anticipated. Persons are paid an affordable wage to do the work (usually talking). I bear in mind an American boss in my former job who was shocked when a Sydney restaurant wouldn’t maintain the kitchen open late for our group. From his perspective, that was horrible service. For us Aussies, it was regular — the employees deserved to complete up their day on time, honest sufficient.
All people can agree on the underlying concept that service employees deserve respect, however the sensible outcomes of that perception may be very totally different in numerous cultural contexts, even between two English-speaking Western nations. Even our smiles are culturally influenced.
While you need to ship nice service on-line, greedy these variations may be very important. For those who’re an Australian serving U.S. prospects, having some understanding of U.S.-style service tradition will assist. Australians a minimum of have an enormous amount of American media to study from, however till Bluey covers customer support in additional element, the remainder of the world in all probability received’t perceive the Australian service tradition.
So what’s the reply? Nicely, constructing a worldwide workforce may also help herald a wider vary of experiences and cultural information. Hiring from various backgrounds, even throughout the similar nation, additionally expands your cultural understanding — even when it’s simply somebody to clarify what number of gadgets “1 lakh” is in your buyer’s order.
Folks, as at all times, are each the issue and the answer.
The AI monoculture
What occurs when there aren’t even folks answering prospects however solely AI instruments? As extra groups combine AI assistants into their assist workflows, extra of the solutions (or drafts) might be generated by machines.
The massive language fashions these machines depend on usually are not completely impartial, indifferent from cultural context. Quite the opposite, being skilled on large quantities of textual content on the web, they replicate the dominance of U.S.-based English language content material.
In a 2023 examine from the College of Copenhagen, the authors discovered:
ChatGPT reveals in its responses that it’s aligned with American tradition and values, whereas not often getting it proper relating to the prevailing values held in different international locations. It presents American values even when particularly requested about these of different international locations. In doing so, it truly promotes American values amongst its customers.
If you’re solely coping with American prospects (with American expectations and values), then that is no drawback in any respect. Nevertheless, in case your buyer base or your employees usually are not solely American, then it does current some dangers.
These dangers may embody generative AI :
Misunderstanding idioms or colloquialisms and treating them actually.
Mistaking cultural directness for rudeness and responding accordingly.
Referencing holidays, occasions, or information gadgets not related to the shopper.
Complicated dates, occasions, or currencies throughout international locations.
Sure, these are all issues folks can (and do) get mistaken too, however folks may be skilled and might educate one another. Generative AI is tougher to enhance, although newer fashions force-fed on a broader weight loss program of languages and content material sources are a possible long-term resolution.
We will’t predict the place generative AI will develop over the following few years. Already, it may be extremely helpful and impressively useful, however it’s essentially totally different from the best way your human assist workforce works.
Corporations that actually worth high-quality customer support might want to put vital effort into monitoring high quality and choosing the place and when to depend on generated output.
There isn’t any automated option to know your personal prospects and take care of them as people. That takes folks.